House construction powers ahead with highest consent levels in 44 years

The first five months of 2018 have seen the highest number of building consents issued for new homes since 1974, according to new statistics, Minister of Housing and Urban Development Phil Twyford says.

"The strong growth in building consents shows the continued confidence of the construction sector. The 13,390 new homes consents issued from January to May this year are the strongest start to any year since 1974.

"Compared to the same point in 2017, new home consents are up 13 per cent nationwide and 36 per cent in Auckland.

"The rise in building consents shows that the construction sector has confidence in the Government’s plan for housing. However, there’s a long way to go to get home building up to the numbers we need to make up for the 71,000 house shortfall left by National.

"To build on this progress, the Government is rolling out the KiwiBuild programme of affordable house building, backing more offsite manufacturing, addressing the skills shortage, freeing up land, and working to speed up consents," Phil Twyford said.